Minority Government in Ireland: Majority Rule?

While in a number of respects Ireland fits in with the Westminster model of government, when it comes to minority rule, the country leans away from its British neighbours in favour of a more European style of governing. In Ireland’s 100 years of independence, approximately 40 pc of governments have been minority administrations, a pattern maintained since 1989, since when half of the governments formed have had a minority status. While in other European countries this happens because of a strong legislative system where parties can have an influence outside of government, or because of a more consensus approach to politics, this is not the case in the Irish Oireachtas, which follows the Westminster pattern of an all-powerful executive and extremely weak parliament. Instead, minority governments rule with the support of independent parliamentarians, an unusual occurrence by most comparative standards. Many commentators bemoan the presence of these administrations, which they interpret as a few individuals (the independents) being able to hold the country to ransom. This paper analyses what explains the formation and presence of minority governments in Ireland, how the government maintains them, and their style of governance. Placing the Irish system in comparative experience, it seeks to explain what combination of policy, office and votes are motivating factors for those inside and outside these governments. The final section seeks to analyse the consequence of minority governments for both the nature of party competition and the party system.